Drain hose and toilet system using the same

ABSTRACT

A water control tubular portion is fixed to the forward end of a discharge hose body. The water control tubular portion is a tubular body or an inverted funnel-like (trumpet-like) tubular body and has water control sections inside it. The water control sections are arranged zigzag so that the amount of discharge of an object (e.g. sewage) becomes as constant as possible and the speed of the discharge can be made slackened. Since the amount of discharge of the object from the forward end of the discharge hose body becomes substantially constant by the water control tubular section and the speed (flow speed) of the discharge is slackened, the forward end of the discharge hose is not fluttered by the pressure of a fluid object (sewage) sent under pressure from a simple toilet device.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates to a drain hose which eliminates shaking etc. of adrain hose body occurring when pressurized delivery substance isdischarged by disposing a tubular water control portion at a tip end ofthe drain hose body. Further, it relates to a toilet system whichprevents excrement and the like delivered with pressure from scatteringin a toilet device.

BACKGROUND ART

A portable toilet device for an aged person who is necessary for anycare or a handicapped person who has any difficulty of going to anexisting toilet in his or her house has been developed.

This portable toilet device is designed to become a chair-type one inorder to be able to be installed indoors so that bowel movement can bedone with sitting on the chair. The portable toilet device is providedwith a water-supplying hose that flushes rinse water into the toiletdevice, a drain hose for drain, which drains the excrement, and meansfor delivering the excrement with pressure. Further, the existing toiletis utilized for both water-supplying and draining thereof.

Thus, the toilet system for processing excrement in the portable toiletdevice by utilizing the existing toilet can be so configured as to be,for example, one shown in FIG. 20.

The toilet system shown in FIG. 20 is an example in which an existingtoilet 3 is set facing a corridor 2 in a house 1. In the existing toilet3, a toilet device 4 and a water-supply tank 5 for rinse water areinstalled. Along the corridor 2, in this example, a room 6 is positionedas a bedroom in which, for example, a bed 7 is set. A portable toiletdevice 10 is set inside the room 6 and bowel movement can be done atthis portable toilet device 10 without going to the existing toilet 3.

The portable toilet device 10 is a flush toilet. Therefore,water-supplying means and draining means are disposed. A water-supplyinghose 12 as the water-supplying means is connected to a water supplysystem, and a drain hose 14 as the draining means is introduced to theexisting toilet device 4.

The drain hose 14 can be connected to a sewerage system. However, inthis case, piping works are needed so that the cost therefor increases.In the case that a connection portion for the drain hose 14 is disposedat the existing toilet device 4, modification of the toilet device isneeded or a new toilet device has to be prepared so that the costtherefor increases similarly. In FIG. 20, the existing toilet device 4is configured so as to be utilized as it is.

When the existing toilet device 4 is utilized as it is, a tip endportion of the drain hose 14 is connected as, for example, one shown inFIG. 21. In this example, the drain hose 14 is passed through andinserted by utilizing a space between the existing toilet device 4 andformed by a base 118 a which is disposed at a lower surface of thetoilet seat 118. A simple hose support 120 is attached to the toiletseat 118 in the existing toilet device 4. A tip end 14 b of the drainhose 14 is free to move but it is also possible to fix the tip end 14 binside the existing toilet device 4.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION Problem to be Solved by the Invention

By the way, as it is feared that excrement stays inside the drain hose14 only with the water pressure of rinse water when the drain hose 14 isinstalled by utilizing the existing toilet device 4 as it is as shown inFIG. 21, a pressurizing type flush toilet is preferred as the portabletoilet device 10.

When it is structured as the pressurizing type one, the dischargingpressure to some extent is applied to the drain hose 14 but when theexcrement is discharged from the drain hose 14, it is feared that thetip end portion 14 b of the drain hose 14 irregularly shakes or waves bythe discharging pressure. When the tip end portion 14 b shakes, it isfeared that the excrement scatters in the existing toilet device 4,which is unsanitary.

Although it is conceivable to fix the tip end portion 14 b in theexisting toilet device 4 or put the tip end portion 14 b into thestagnant water (rinse water) of the existing toilet device 4, scatteringof the excrement cannot be effectively suppressed in such cases sincethe discharging speed of the excrement is unexpectedly fast.

This invention then solves such conventional problems and proposes adrain hose which can effectively suppress scattering of dischargingsubstance and a toilet system utilizing the same.

Means for Solving the Problem

To solve the above-mentioned problems, a drain hose according to claim 1of the invention is characterized in that the drain hose contains a hosebody and a tubular water control portion which is attached at a tip endof the hose body, wherein the tubular water control portion includes aplurality of water control pieces disposed therein with the watercontrol pieces being arranged in a staggered manner.

Further, a toilet system according to claim 3 of the invention ischaracterized in that the toilet system is constituted of an existingtoilet and a portable toilet device, wherein a drain hose for drainingexcrement is connected to the portable toilet device and a tubular watercontrol portion which is attached to a tip end of the drain hose isfixed to an inside of the existing toilet through a space between atoilet device and a toilet seat of the existing toilet.

In the invention, the tubular water control portion is attached to thetip end of the drain hose body. The tubular water control portion isdisposed so as to control a discharging amount of and discharging speed(flow speed) of the discharging substance (the excrement etc.) to bedischarged from the tip end portion of the drain hose body. The tubularwater control portion is a tubular member or a tube which is formed as areverse-funnel configuration (a flare configuration) and contains aplurality of water control pieces therein.

The water control pieces are formed so as to be arranged in thestaggered manner so that the discharging amount can be kept as constantas possible and the discharging speed can be reduced. However, lengthand width of the water control piece, an arrangement interval, numbersand the like of the water control pieces are selected so as to obstructno discharge of the discharging substance.

Due to the water control pieces, discharging speed (flow speed) offluidized mixture at the tip end opening portion of the tubular watercontrol portion can be reduced and the inner pressure thereof can bedispersed, thereby enabling the fluidized mixture to be discharged atthe rate of almost constant amount in a reduced speed condition evenwhen the fluidized mixture is delivered with it being pressurized.Because the inner pressure can be gradually decreased, the tip endportion of the drain hose is prevented from waving caused by thereaction force of the discharging force of the fluidized mixture, whichmay avoid the fluidized mixture scattering.

In this manner, when this drain hose is applied to both of the portabletoilet device and the existing toilet device, which constitute thetoilet system, the scattering of excrement to the inside of the wholeexisting toilet device can be prevented even when the excrement isdelivered with it being pressurized, which is sanitary.

The portable toilet device is a pressurizing type flush toilet. Theportable toilet device contains a device body including awater-supplying nozzle which supplies rinse water from the vicinity ofan opening portion of a toilet device, a stagnant portion which isdisposed at the deep place thereof under the opening portion, and adraining port which communicates with the stagnant portion.

Breaking means for breaking the excrement is installed in the stagnantportion. Pressurizing delivery means of broken substance for deliveringthe broken substance of the excrement with it being pressurized isdisposed at the upper part of the stagnant portion and a lid for openand closure which closes the stagnant portion tightly is disposed at theupper side of the pressurizing delivery means of broken substance. Anon-off valve (an electromagnetic valve for draining) is disposed at thedraining port side of the toilet device body.

When the excrement etc. drop onto the lid for open and closure, a topend portion of the lid for open and closure is being apart from a rim ofa reducing size portion by its weight so that the excrementautomatically drops into the stagnant portion by its weight. The lid foropen and closure automatically closes after bowel movement is done sothat the stagnant portion is automatically closed tightly again. In thismanner, deodorization of the excrement and concealment of the breakingmeans can be performed.

The breaking means is driven to break the excrement. After the breakingprocess of the excrement is performed, the pressure in the stagnantportion is increased (to about 2 atmospheric pressures) by supplyingcompressed air into the stagnant portion. Then, by opening theelectromagnetic valve for draining, the broken fluidized mixture isdelivered with it being pressurized towards a side of the existingtoilet device via the drain hose. Such pressurized delivery processallows the fluidized mixture to be drained to the existing toilet devicewithout remaining in the drain hose.

When the water-supplying hose for washing that supplies water to theportable toilet device and the above-mentioned drain hose areintegrated, attaching, detaching, and arranging of these hoses becomeeasy.

EFFECTS OF INVENTION

The invention is to provide the drain hose having the tubular watercontrol portion. Further, the invention is to provide the toilet systemwhich has such drain hose.

Accordingly, as the discharging amount and the discharging speed of thefluidized mixture can be suppressed by the tubular water controlportion, waving etc. of the tip end portion of the drain hose can beavoided while the fluidized mixture is discharged. Therefore, in thetoilet system equipped with the drain hose, the waving of the tip endportion of the drain hose can be suppressed while the excrement isdrained into the existing toilet device, so that a sanitary toiletsystem can be provided.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[FIG. 1] is a sectional view of an embodiment of a portable toiletdevice according to the invention for showing an important portionthereof;

[FIG. 2] is a sectional view of the portable toilet device, which isshown in FIG. 1, for showing a usage state thereof;

[FIG. 3] is a schematic diagram for showing an embodiment in which awater-supplying hose and a drain hose are connected to an existingtoilet device;

[FIG. 4] is a diagram for showing a configuration of the water-supplyinghose;

[FIG. 5] is a diagram for showing a configuration of the drain hose;

[FIG. 6] is a sectional view of an embodiment of a check valve forshowing an important portion thereof;

[FIG. 7] is a perspective view of a hose support for the drain hose forshowing an embodiment thereof;

[FIG. 8] is a sectional view of an important portion of the existingtoilet device in a state that the hose support is attached thereto;

[FIG. 9] is a sectional view of another important portion of theexisting toilet device in a state that the hose support is attachedthereto;

[FIG. 10] is a sectional view of an important portion of the existingtoilet device in a state that the drain hose is attached thereto;

[FIG. 11] is a sectional view of an important portion of a tubular watercontrol portion (No. 1) which is utilized for the invention;

[FIG. 12] is a sectional view of an important portion of a tubular watercontrol portion (No. 2) which is utilized for the invention;

[FIG. 13] is a sectional view of an important portion of a tubular watercontrol portion (No. 3) which is utilized for the invention;

[FIG. 14] is a sectional view of an important portion of a tubular watercontrol portion (No. 4) which is utilized for the invention;

[FIG. 15] is a sectional view of an important portion of a tubular watercontrol portion (No. 5) which is utilized for the invention;

[FIG. 16] is a sectional view taken on line I-I of FIG. 15;

[FIG. 17] is a system diagram for showing an embodiment of a controlsystem for a portable toilet device according to the invention;

[FIG. 18] is wave form charts for operation description of the portabletoilet device;

[FIG. 19] is wave form charts for operation description of water drain;

[FIG. 20] is an explanatory diagram for showing an embodiment of atoilet system; and

[FIG. 21] is a sectional view of the existing toilet device for showingan example of attachment of the drain hose thereto.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

The following will describe preferred embodiments of the drain hose andthe toilet system using the same according to the invention moredetailed with reference to drawings. The portable toilet device that isapplicable to the invention is preferable for a portable toilet deviceequipped with a so-called shower toilet having any buttock-washingfunction. Any description on the shower toilet equipment will be omittedin the following description. The portable toilet device is applied to aflush toilet of western type.

Embodiment 1

As shown in FIG. 20, a toilet system according to the invention isconstructed of an existing toilet 3, a portable toilet device 10, and awater-supplying hose 12 and a drain hose 14, which connect them. Sincethe configuration of FIG. 20 has been already explained, the detailedexplanation thereof will be omitted. The existing toilet 3 is also awestern type flush toilet. The portable toilet device 10 is apressurized delivery type flush toilet.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an embodiment of the pressurized deliverytype portable toilet device 10, to which the invention is applicable,for showing an important portion thereof. The portable toilet device 10has a body 20 of the toilet device. The body 20 of the toilet device hasa profiled configuration of a funnel that is almost like that of anormal flush toilet (of western style), but has a whole configuration ofbox. It is to be noted that the body 20 of the toilet device may be notonly formed as a box but also formed as, for example, chair-type oneequipped with armrests.

In order to save the weight of the body 20 of the toilet device, in thisembodiment, plastic molded body is used as the body 20 of the toiletdevice but any other materials such as ceramics may be used. A toiletseat 21 is mounted on the body 20 of the toilet device at a side of itsupper opening and a cover 23 is provided for closing the toilet seat 21and the upper opening.

A stagnant portion 18 of trap water and the excrement is formed at abottom of the body 20 of the toilet device. A drain portion 22 having aprofiled configuration turned down at ends thereof, which iscommunicated with the stagnant portion 18, is provided and a drain hose14 according to the invention is connected to a drain opening 27.

The portion having a profiled configuration turned down at ends thereofis generally called S-shape trap. Thus, in this embodiment, a connectionportion 26 is formed on a rear surface portion 20 b of the body 20 ofthe toilet device and an electromagnetic valve 24 acting as on-off valveis mounted near the connection portion 26 inside the body 20 of thetoilet device. It is conceivable that a configuration of the drainportion 22 communicated with the stagnant portion 18 includesconfigurations of P type, U type, bowl type and the like in addition tothe shown configuration. All of these configurations cause similareffects.

The electromagnetic valve 24 is controlled so that it opens only whenthe trap water including the excrement in the stagnant portion 18 isdrained out of the toilet device and it closes when the toilet is notused. This is because the water is prevented from leaking. In additionto preventing water leaking, the electromagnetic valve 24 also has afunction to prevent compressed air from leaking when the pressure in thestagnant portion 18 is increased (to about 2 atmospheric pressures) byusing an air compressor (described later) which constitutes pressurizingdelivery means.

A water-supplying nozzle 28 for rinse water is provided on a wallsurface 18 a, on a side of the drain portion, of the body 20 of thetoilet device near an upper portion thereof. A connecting pipe 30 isarranged between a connection portion 34, which is provided on the rearsurface portion 20 b of the body, and the water-supplying nozzle 28. Adiverging pipe is utilized as the connecting pipe 30 and anelectromagnetic valve 32 for controlling the rinse water is attached tothe connecting pipe 30 that extends towards the water-supplying nozzle28. This is because the water-supply from the water-supply hose 12 whichis connected to the connection portion 34 can be controlled by theelectromagnetic valve 32.

A washing hose (a washing pipe) 240 is also connected to the dividedconnecting pipe 30 via an electromagnetic valve 33. A tip end of thewashing hose 240 is arranged so as to project above the water surface ofthe trap water of the stagnant portion 18. With the water pouring(actually, the water injecting) through the washing hose 240, thewashing of the inside of the stagnant portion 18 and the rear surface ofthe lid body 212 is preformed, which will be mentioned later.

A rubber-like leak proof tube 29 is inserted between the water-supplyingnozzle 28 and the wall surface 18 a, and a leak poof tube 242 is alsoinserted at the stagnant portion 18 where the washing hose 240penetrates, which causes water leaking to the outside to be prevented.

Breaking means 40 for breaking the excrement etc. is disposed at thebottom portion of the stagnant portion 18. The breaking means 40 is usedfor breaking the excrement (excreta etc.) and/or toilet paper(hereinafter, collectively called as excrement), which are remained inthe stagnant portion 18, and the fluidized mixture thus broken isdrained out with it being mixed with trap water.

The breaking means 40 may be constituted of a motor (an electromagneticmotor) 42 and a breaking blade 44. In FIG. 1, only the breaking blades44 of them is so installed as to meet in the stagnant portion 18.Accordingly, the motor 42 is positioned on a side of an outside wall 19of the bottom of the stagnant portion 18, and is attached and fixed tothe body 20 of the toilet device by means of supporting members 46 suchas bolts and nuts. A rotating shaft of the motor 42 is attached to thebottom of the stagnant portion 18 in a hermetic manner against water.The motor 42 may be fixed to a bottom plate 20 c of the body 20 of thetoilet device, not to the side of the outside wall of the bottom of thestagnant portion 18.

A control unit 50 constituted of CPU and the like is arranged on thebottom plate 20 c. Any driving of the above-mentioned electromagneticvalve 24 for drain, electromagnetic valve 32, 33 for water supply, motor42 and the like is controlled by the control unit 50 only during apredetermined period of time and at a predetermined timing. A powerswitch 52 for the control unit 50 is arranged on the rear surfaceportion 20 b of the body, and an open/close switch 55 (which will bedescribed later) is arranged on an upper surface of the body and under alower surface of the cover 23.

The portable toilet device 10 further has the following configuration.As shown in FIG. 1, pressurizing delivery means 200 of broken substancefor sending prescribed compressed air to the stagnant portion 18 isprovided at a desired position of upper portion of the stagnant portion18 in the body 20 of the toilet device and of lower portion than thewater-supplying nozzle 28. A reducing size portion 230 is provided at aposition of upper portion of the stagnant portion 18 and of slightlyupper side than a portion where the pressurizing delivery means 200 isdisposed. Further, a lid-opening and closing mechanism 210 is providedunder a lower surface of the reducing size portion 230 so that it canblock the reducing size portion 230 and close the stagnant portion 18tightly.

The pressurizing delivery means 200 may be constituted of an aircompressor and a sending pipe 204 of this air compressor 200 extendsinto the side of the stagnant portion 18 via attaching means 206. Theattaching means 206 is positioned at a position upper than a surface oftrap water in the stagnant portion 18. The air compressor 200 is fixedon an attaching plate 202 provided in the back-side space 20 a of thebody 20 of the toilet device.

A similar effect can be expected even when having such a system as tointake compressed air from the outside of the portable toilet devicebody, not to dispose the air compressor 200 at the body 20 of the toiletdevice.

The reducing size portion 230 is configured so as to be a ring-shapedflange portion which extends inwardly to the stagnant portion 18 by apredetermined length. The above-mentioned sending pipe 204 is positionedbetween the trap water in the stagnant portion 18 and the reducing sizeportion 230.

The reducing size portion 230 is so designed as to be wholly inclinedsomewhat toward a side of the drain portion 22, as clearly shown inFIG. 1. A lid-opening and closing mechanism 210, which can block thisreducing size portion 230, is provided under the lower surface of thereducing size portion 230. A rotational type and a slide type areconceivable for the lid-opening and closing mechanism 210. FIG. 1 showsan example of the rotational type.

In this example, a lid body 212 constituting the lid-opening and closingmechanism 210 is provided because of the rotational type. An end of thelid body 212, a right end thereof in a shown embodiment, is set as arotation axis portion 214 and the rotation axis portion 214 is pivotedrotatably on the body 20 of the toilet device so that the rotation axisportion 214 can be positioned under a lower surface portion 232 of thereducing size portion 230. This pivoted portion is pivoted under thebody 20 of the toilet device in a hermetic manner against water.

The lid body 212 is urged so that its periphery can come into contactwith a lower rim 234 of the reducing size portion 230. The lid body 212has a shape like extending along the lower rim 234 and a spring 216 forurging is twisted between the rotation axis portion 214 and a wallsurface of the lower surface portion 232, thereby enabling the lid body212 to be come into contact with the lower rim 234 normally to close theinterior of the stagnant portion 18 tightly.

Since the reducing size portion 230 is provided so as to be inclinedsomewhat toward a side of the drain portion 22 as described above, thelid body 212 itself constituting the lid-opening and closing mechanism210 is also attached so as to be inclined toward the side of the drainportion 22. Thus, when the lid body 212 is attached in an inclinedmanner, any excrement dropped on an upper surface of the lid body 212can be dropped dawn into the stagnant portion 18 (see FIG. 2).

A tip end of the above-mentioned washing hose 240 is attached inside thestagnant portion 18 with an angle being able to jet rinse water intoboth of a side of rear surface of the lid body 212 and a part of theperiphery of the stagnant portion 18. In this embodiment, as shown inFIG. 1, it is attached and fixed in a hermetic manner against water to aportion thereof near and under the rotation axis portion 214 of the lidbody 212.

The water-supplying hose 12 and the drain hose 14 are connected to thebody 20 of the toilet device thus structured and they are extended tothe existing toilet 3.

FIG. 3 shows an outline of the existing toilet 3. FIG. 3 illustrates theexisting toilet device 4 that is equipped with a shower toilet 80. Inthis embodiment, a diverging pipe 84 is connected to a water pipe (watersupply pipe) 82 and a first diverging port 86 is provided to thediverging pipe 84 at a side of the water pipe 82, and is connected witha hose 87 for the shower toilet. A second diverging port 88 is providedthereto nearer the end thereof than the first diverging port 86, and isconnected with a hose 89 for the rinse water.

In this embodiment, the diverging pipe 84 having such divergingconfiguration is used, a check valve 90 is arranged between the firstand second diverging ports 86, 88, and a connection portion 92 forconnecting the water-supplying hose 12 is provided at a tail end of thediverging pipe 84. The connection portion 60A provided at a tip end ofthe water-supplying hose 12 is connected to this connection portion 92.

Thus, arranging the new diverging pipe 84 and attaching thewater-supplying hose 12 thereto enables the rinse water to be suppliedto the portable toilet device 10. furthermore, it is because if an errorsuch that water from the hose 89 and the water-supplying hose 12 flowsbackward should happen, the water to be supplied to aside of the showertoilet is prevented from being mixed with the water flown backward, toarrange the check valve 90 between the first and second diverging ports86, 88.

A tank 96 filled with a sterilizing solution is further inserted to aconnection portion for the sterilizing solution at the tail end portionof the diverging pipe 84. Using the sterilizing solution enables anysanitary conditions in not only the existing toilet 3 but also theportable toilet device 10 to be improved. The drain hose may be alsowashed at the same time. The tank 96 has not always to be provided butmay be suitably provided at need.

In this manner, by commonly using the water-supplying system of theexisting toilet, the portable toilet device 10 can be used with simpleadding works which adds only the diverging pipe 84.

The drain hose 14 is inserted between the existing toilet device 4 andthe toilet seat 118 so that the tubular water control portion 150 meetsthe inside of the existing toilet device 4. The way how to insert it isthe same way as shown in FIG. 21.

FIG. 4 shows an example of the water-supplying hose 12 and FIG. 5 showsan example of the drain hose 14. When an end 12 a of the water-supplyinghose 12 is an end that is connected to a side of a water supply pipe andthe other end 12 b thereof is an end that is connected to the portabletoilet device 10, the ends 12 a, 12 b are respectively provided withconnection portions 60A, 60B, each of which has a check valve.

A connection portion 62A with a check valve is disposed at one endportion 14 a of a hose body 145 constituting the drain hose 14, and thetubular water control portion 150 is provided at the other end portion14 b thereof. The end portion 14 a is the end portion to be connected tothe side of the portable toilet device 10.

Since the water-supplying hose 12 is used for rinse water supplied tothe body 20 of the toilet device, a vinyl hose having a small diameteror the like may be used. On the other hand, since the drain hose 14enables any fluidized mixture formed by breaking the excrement and thelike to be flown therein, a vinyl hose or the like having the same as ora larger diameter than that of the water-supplying hose 12 may be used.This is because the fluidized mixture with the rinse water, notsolidified excrement, is treated. FIG. 5 shows a case where the drainhose 14 having a larger diameter than that of the water-supplying hose12 is used.

If the water-supplying hose 12 and the drain hose 14 having differentdiameters are used, rudimentary mistake in connection manipulation suchthat the water-supplying hose 12 is used as a drain hose or the drainhose 14 is accidentally connected as a water-supplying hose may becertainly prevented because of difference in their diameters.

Each of the connection portions 60 (62), which has a check valve, formsa hollow valve operation room 64 with, for example, a rectangularprofile inside a body 63, as shown in FIG. 6, and a ball member 65acting as valve action and a push spring 66 urging against it areprovided in the room, thereby enabling the valve to be opened by anaction of water pressure in a direction of an arrow “a”. This preventsbackflows from both of the sides of portable toilet device and the watersupply pipe.

On the other hands, at the other connection portion 60B, it isconfigured so that a projection member, not shown, retreating the ballmember 65 of the check valve against the push spring 66 when the otherconnection portion 60B is connected to a side of the portable toiletdevice 10 is provided in the side of the portable toilet device, therebyenabling an internal valve to be opened to become any communicatecondition in a case where the connection portion 60 is connected orenabling the internal valve to be closed in a case where when it is notconnected, to prevent liquid in the hose from leaking to outside.

The tubular water control portion 150 attached to the drain hose 14 isarranged so as to position inside the existing toilet device 4 passingover an opening rim 4 a (see FIG. 10) of the existing toilet device 4.At that time, a hose support 120 for fixing the drain hose 14 isutilized and it is fitted to and fixed at the opening rim 4 a of theexisting toilet device 4.

FIG. 7 shows a specific example of the hose support 120. The hosesupport 120 is molded of resin and the like and a hose support body 121has a profiled configuration of the character “7” and a shapecorresponding to the opening rim 4 a. A left end portion 121 a of thebody 121 functions as a piece to support the outer rim side of theopening rim 4 a. Similarly, a right end portion 121 b functions as apiece to support the inner rim of the opening rim 4 a. A first hosesupport portion 123 is disposed on the upper surface of the body 121.The first hose support portion 123 is formed so as to have a profiledsemicircular configuration with a part thereof being lacked, and aninner diameter portion is slightly larger than a diameter of the drainhose 14.

The side of the right end portion 121 b is formed to be about two timeslonger than that of the left end portion 121 a, and the tip end portionthereof is formed so as to be warped to the outside to some extent.Further, a second hose support portion 125 is formed integrally with thebody 121 at the end portion side thereof so as to extend outwardly. Thesecond hose support 125 is also formed so as to have a profiledsemicircular configuration with apart thereof being lacked, and an innerdiameter portion is slightly larger than a diameter of the drain hose14.

FIG. 8 shows a state in which the hose support 120 is fitted onto theside of the opening rim 4 a. FIG. 9 particularly shows a case where thehose support 120 is fitted onto a back side of the base 118 a which isdisposed at a bottom portion of the toilet seat 118.

FIG. 10 shows a section of the hose support 120 on a state where it isfitted. The drain hose 14 according to the invention is utilized as thedrain hose 14. The drain hose 14 is constituted of the hose body 145 andthe tubular water control portion 150 which is attached and fixed to thetip end portion of the hose body 145. The drain hose 14 extends into theinside of the existing toilet device 4 while its periphery is supportedby the first and second hose support portions 123, 125, respectively.

Furthermore, it is supposed that an outer diameter of the drain hose 14,a height of the first hose support portion 123, a height of the base 118a and the like are selected so that the drain hose 14 fits in a spacegenerated by the base 118 a from a bottom portion of a toilet seat 118when the toilet seat 118 is lowered.

The tubular water control portion 150 which is attached to the tip endportion of the drain hose 14 extending into the inside of the existingtoilet device 4 is attached and fixed to the vicinity of a neck portion4 b of the existing toilet device 4. For example, the tubular watercontrol portion 150 is attached to the neck portion 4 b with arubber-like adsorbing member 148 which is shaped as a flareconfiguration and the like. By utilizing the adsorbing member 148, thetubular water control portion 150 can also be detached from the neckportion 4 b, thereby enabling cleaning of the tubular water controlportion 150 to be made easy.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view of an embodiment of the tubular watercontrol portion 150 for showing an important portion thereof. Thetubular water control portion 150 is constituted of a connection portion151 to the hose body 145 and a tubular body 152 disposed next to theconnection portion 151. As the tubular body 152, a cylindrical member isused, and a plurality of water control pieces 154 is disposed therein.

The water control pieces 154 are arranged in a staggered manner and inthe case of FIG. 11, they contain a right side water control piece 154 awith approximately semicircle shape and a left side water control piece154 b with approximately semicircle shape similarly, and they arearranged in a staggered manner with a specific interval beingmaintained. The water control pieces 154 are disposed as to project to aflowing direction of the fluidized mixture with them being approximatelyorthogonal to the flowing direction.

The water control pieces 154 are controlling pieces so that thefluidized mixture which is drained from the drain hose 14 flows down atthe rate of constant amount while flowing speed is reduced. The number,the size, the interval and the like of the water control pieces 154 areoptional but when the number is too many or the interval is too narrow,it is feared that fluidized mixture that is flowing down becomesstagnant or the flowing time becomes too long, so that it is necessaryto select conditions in accordance with the inner diameter of the drainhose 14 and the like. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 11, the tubularwater control portion 150 is configured by utilizing three water controlpieces 154 in total and even in this case, sufficient water controleffect (the effects of regulation of discharging amount anddeceleration) can be obtained.

In this manner, due to the water control pieces 154, the dischargingspeed (the flow speed) of the fluidized mixture at the tip end openingportion of the tubular water control portion 150 can be reduced and theinner pressure thereof can be dispersed, so that it is possible todischarge the fluidized mixture at the rate of almost constant amount ina decelerated condition even when the fluidized mixture is deliveredwith it being pressurized. Further, because the inner pressure can begradually decreased, the tip end portion of the drain hose 14, namely,the tubular water control portion 150, is prevented from waving causedby the reaction force of the discharging pressure of the fluidizedmixture and the scattering of the fluidized mixture can be prevented.

Therefore, when the drain hose 14 which has the tubular water controlportion 150 is applied to both of the portable toilet device 10 and theexisting toilet device 4 of the toilet system, it is sanitary becausethe scattering of excrement to the inside of the whole existing toiletdevice can be prevented even when the excrement is delivered with itbeing pressurized.

FIG. 12 and after show other embodiments of the tubular water controlportion 150. FIG. 12 shows a case where the projecting directions of thewater control pieces 154 are declined to the flowing direction to someextent while utilizing the same water control pieces 154 in FIG. 11.With this structure, the passing of the fluidized mixture becomessmoother.

FIG. 13 shows an embodiment in which the tubular body 152 is formed soas to have a reverse-funnel configuration (a flare configuration), notto be a cylindrical member, the remained configuration of which is thesame as that of FIG. 11. Since the reaction force by the fluidizedmixture can be suppressed by directing the opening towards thedownstream, the waving in accordance with the flowing-down of thefluidized mixture can be decreased.

FIG. 14 shows a modified example of FIG. 13 and the declinations of thewater control pieces 154 are formed as to be the same as the case shownin FIG. 12. The effect thereof is similar to that of FIG. 12.

In FIG. 15, in addition to the water control pieces 154, a dividingpiece 156 is disposed above the water control pieces 154. Therefore, thetubular body 152 is a prism-shaped body while, as shown in FIG. 16, thedividing piece 156 is formed as an arc and is disposed so that theprojecting portion faces upwards.

The flowing speed of the fluidized mixture is decreased due to thecollision with the dividing piece 156 and the fluidized mixture flowsevenly in the tubular body 152 because the flow is divided into theright and left, thereby enabling the water control effect to be furtherimproved.

FIG. 17 shows an embodiment of a control system for the portable toiletdevice 10. In addition to the above-mentioned power switch 52, anopen/close switch 55, and a drain switch 244 are provided and theiron/off signals are supplied to the control unit 50.

The power switch 52 is turned on when the portable toilet device 10 isinstalled. On the other hand, the open/close switch 55 is a switch thatis turned on/off in connection with the open and closure of the cover 23for closing an upper portion of the toilet seat 21. Therefore, as shownin FIG. 1, in this embodiment, the open/close switch 55 (a sensor switchfor detecting the open and closure etc.) is mounted under a lowersurface of the cover 23 so as to face to the cover 23. The drain switch244 can be disposed, for example, at the back side more than the cover23. This is because the usage frequency is low.

Any control signals from the control unit 50 constituted of CPU controleach driving state of the above-mentioned electromagnetic valve 24 fordrain, electromagnetic valve 32 for water supply, the electromagneticvalve 33 for washing, motor 42 for breaking, and air compressor 200.

FIG. 18 shows an example of such control timing. In a case of thisportable toilet device 10, it is supposed that the lid body 212 as thelid for open and closure is closed when the toilet is not used.

The portable toilet device is used while the cover 23 is opened. Openmanipulation of the cover 23 is detected by the open/close switch 55 (asensor switch for detecting the open and close etc.) (A in FIG. 18).Bowel movement is carried out while the cover 23 is opened. When theexcrement drops down onto the lid body 212, the lid body 212 is openedby excrement's weight and the excrement drops into the trap water in thestagnant portion 18 (see FIG. 2). When the excrement drops, the lid body212 is automatically closed. This is because the lid body 212 is alwaysurged toward a side of the reducing size portion 230.

After the bowel movement has been finished, the cover 23 is closed (A inFIG. 18). If it is determined that the cover is closed, any excrement isbroken into fragments for a period of time Ta (B in FIG. 18). It is tobe noted that instead of closure operation of the cover 23, a startswitch corresponding to the open/close switch 55 may be operated by anymanual operation to start such breaking operation. The period of time Tafor breaking operation is set to a period of time when the excrement andtoilet paper may be suitably broken into fragments. It is normally setto a period of time of 20 seconds or less, preferably about 5 through 10seconds.

When the breaking operation has been finished, an air compressor 200 isdriven to send compressed air into an interior of the stagnant portion18 which is then pressurized (E in FIG. 18). A period of time Tb forpressurizing process is set to a period of time when internal pressurein the stagnant portion 18 is increased up to a predetermined value (forexample, 2 atmospheric pressures). The predetermined value of theinternal pressure means a pressure such that the fluidized mixture iscertainly delivered with it being pressurized and drained to theexisting toilet device 4 through the drain hose 14. A period of time Tbthat is a predetermined value of the internal pressure is actually setin advance and this period of time Tb is counted.

When the period of time Tb for pressurizing has been elapsed, theelectromagnetic valve 24 for drain is driven while the air compressor200 is driven, namely, the compressed air is sent to the interior of thestagnant portion 18 (D in FIG. 18). When the electromagnetic valve 24for drain is driven to open the drain opening 27, the trap water(fluidized mixture) in the stagnant portion 18 is delivered at once withit being pressurized by the compressed air and drained out toward a sideof the drain hose 14. Since the drain hose 14 is connected with theexisting toilet device 4, the excrement broken into fragments by thebreaking means 40 is drained to a side of the existing toilet device 4.

A period of time Tc for pressuring delivery is normally set to a periodof relatively longer time, for example, about 10 through 30 seconds, inorder to prevent the fluidized mixture from being remained in the drainhose 14, though there may be a difference in a set length of the drainhose 14.

When the period of time Tc for pressuring delivery has been elapsed, theelectromagnetic valve 24 for drain is turned off and driving of the aircompressor stops (D, E in FIG. 18). This enables the drain opening 27 tobe closed. The electromagnetic valve 32 for water-supply is thenactivated to start the water supply to the stagnant portion 18 (C inFIG. 18). A period of time Td for water supply is set to a period ofwater supply time when the trap water in the stagnant portion 18 reachesa predetermined amount. It is to be noted that the predetermined amountmeans an amount of supplied water up to a case where a surface of thetrap water exceeds a bend portion of the drain portion 22. When thewater supply to the stagnant portion 18 has been completed, its standbycondition therefor occurs.

It is to be noted that, in this embodiment, an electromagnetic valve 33for washing is also driven with synchronization with the operation ofthe electromagnetic valve 32 for water-supply, as shown in C in FIG. 18.If the electromagnetic valve 33 operates, water is supplied into thestagnant portion 18 through the washing hose 240; the water isconcretely jet toward a rear surface of the lid body 212 and a wallsurface of the stagnant portion 18. Since, by means of this jet by therinse water, the rear surface of the lid body 212 and the wall surfaceof the stagnant portion 18 are washed, the lid body 212 and the stagnantportion 18 can be always kept clean.

Such washing process may be performed before the water supply to thestagnant portion 18, namely, after the fluidized mixture has beendelivered with it being pressurized and drained, not simultaneousexecution of the water supply to the stagnant portion 18 and the washingof the lid body 212 and the like, to deliver the rinse water thereforwith it being pressurized and/or drain it at the same time. Therefore,the water supply to the stagnant portion 18 is then performed after theelectromagnetic valve 24 has been closed.

If the portable toilet device 10 is moved or removed, it is preferableto drain the trap water from the stagnant portion 18. Such drainprocessing is separately performed from the above-mentioned drainprocess. In this case, as shown in FIG. 19, the drain switch 244 isturned on, so that the air compressor 200 is activated (A, C in FIG.19). The start of the air compressor 200 enables the interior of thestagnant portion 18 to be pressurized (C in FIG. 19). After thepressurizing process over a period of time Tf has been finished, theelectromagnetic valve 24 for drain is driven so that the drain openingcan be opened for a predetermined period of time Tg (B in FIG. 19).

This pressurizing delivery enables the trap water to be drained from thestagnant portion 18. The electromagnetic valve 24 for drain is closedwith a small amount of delay (ΔTf) starting from when the driving of theair compressor 200 stops. This causes any drain processing (of the trapwater) to be completed. It is to be noted that the period of time Tf maybe set to the above-mentioned period of time Tb and the period of timeTg may be set to the period of time Tc.

Accordingly, it is obvious that various modifications may be madewithout departing from the spirit of the invention.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The invention is available for a care assistance device for carefacilities, care at home and the like.

1-5. (canceled)
 6. A drain hose comprising: a hose body; and a tubular water control portion which is attached to a tip end of the hose body, wherein the tubular water control portion includes a plurality of water control pieces disposed therein.
 7. The drain hose according to claim 6, wherein the tubular water control portion is a tubular member or a reverse-funnel like tube and contains a plurality of water control pieces inside thereof with the water control pieces being arranged in a staggered manner.
 8. A toilet system wherein the toilet system is constituted of an existing toilet and a portable toilet device, wherein a drain hose for draining excrement is connected to the portable toilet device; and wherein a tubular water control portion which is attached to a tip end of the drain hose is fixed to an inside of the existing toilet through a space between a toilet device and a toilet seat of the existing toilet.
 9. The toilet system according to claim 8, wherein the portable toilet device is a pressurizing type flush toilet; and the portable toilet device contains: a toilet device body that includes a water-supplying nozzle which supplies rinse water from the vicinity of an opening portion of a toilet device, a stagnant portion which is disposed at the deep place thereof under the opening portion, and a draining port which communicates with the stagnant portion and is connected with the drain hose; breaking means for breaking the excrement, the breaking means being disposed in the stagnant portion; pressurizing delivery means of broken substance for delivering the broken substance of the excrement with pressure, the pressurizing delivery means being disposed at the upper part of the stagnant portion; and a lid for open and closure which closes the stagnant portion tightly, the lid being disposed at the upper side of the pressurizing delivery means of broken substance.
 10. The toilet system according to claim 9, wherein an on-off valve mechanism is disposed in the vicinity of the draining port; and by opening the on-off valve mechanism when the pressurizing delivery means of broken substance is driven and inner pressure of a space formed by the lid for open and closure and the stagnant portion exceeds a predetermined pressure, the excrement of the portable toilet is delivered with pressure towards a side of the toilet device of the existing toilet. 